Busy takes on new meaning!

            The saying, “If you want something done, get a busy person to do it” seems to be holding special meaning for Lynn and I this year. For quite awhile now we have been discussing pushing her art work a bit harder to see if it would generate some income. Along with that I have started selling some of my wood turnings.

            Wanting to take that a step farther we have now signed up for a 10 month course on marketing. Put on by the Montana Artepreneur Program (MAP) it is 10 hours of class time a month along with 35 business goals that we need to meet. Some of those are pretty easy; make up business cards, invoice-receipt-order blanks with our letterhead, etc… There is also a requirement to log a minimum of 120 hours of “studio” time. So, now we HAVE to spend time in the shop making stuff, Darn!

            We have our first meeting tonight at 5:00 to make a grant application to help defray the costs of the class. Along with those costs will be the cost of building up an inventory to use in making our portfolio and display booth. (We are to have “professional” photos taken, think I can handle that?)

            I think this is going to be a very rewarding class and one that will enable us both to start making some income from our hobbies. I’ll keep everyone up to date as we take classes and meet with the leaders of the program.

Curling and thesis.

            I had a chance to try curling over the weekend. I have to say, it is an interesting game/ sport, a sort of cross between shuffle board, bowling and pool. Like any sport, there were people there using “club” equipment and others using custom shoes and “brooms” to improve their scores.

            While I don’t think this is something I’m ever going to get into enough to be competitive, I am thinking about signing up to be a “sub” for all teams so that they don’t have to forfeit a game is one of their players has to miss a game for some reason. One of the main issues for me is that the “early” game starts as 9:30 PM and the late game at 11:30. Way past my normal bedtime! They have to do the games at those times due to the ice rink being used for figure skating and hockey from early morning on through the day. Another factor is the cost, to join the team costs $75 and joining the club costs $40 for a total of $105! Yikes... I could shoot a lot of trap for that amount! For $40 though I can sign up to be a sub and not have to pay anymore. Still thinking on that one and might wait to see if they call on me to sub again first.

            Still no luck on the job search, there are few archaeology jobs at all this time of year and none in the state of MT it seems. Even regular jobs seem to be hard to find here as well, unless I had training as a nurse or IT guy. (I don’t). I’ll have to keep checking and hope that there is something that comes up soon.

            On a good note, I have started working on my thesis again, with Lynn’s help and motivation; I hope to have it completed for review again in a week or two! Check back often to see if I can keep that up!

           

A great visit by family

            Well we had a great ending to our year when Robert and the girls arrived to spend Christmas with us here in MT. After a tiring 14 hour drive they were happy to be out of their pickup and on comfortable furniture!

            Over the next few days we took them over the Continental divide, showed them the flatness of the plains on the east side of the Rocky Mountains. Spent a few hours looking at the country in and around Glacier National Park and they got to stand on both sides of the Canadian border north of Pole Bridge. The girls made pillows with Lynn’s help while Robert found himself hooked on wood turning out in the shop. He made a bowl and a Grimble (a dish to hold all the stuff that comes out of your pockets.) I made a “wand” for Dessi and Britney and MaKayla got a small turned box. Once I got Robert turning, I couldn’t get him to stop! (evil grin!)

            Like most visits there is never enough time to do all the things we would like to do. A quick tour around Flathead Lake, with a side trip to look at Kerr Dam, gave them views of the mountains on both sides. The lake on the West side has a lot of inlets so the road is crooked and makes the lake seem even longer than it is, the East side is straighter, but the speed limit is slower, making the trip about the same in time.

            The weather was mild, meaning we didn’t have the snow they were hoping for, but also making it easier to get out and do things. Any time spent in the house was taken up with reading, doing art work or enjoying each others company.

            After leaving here they made a stop at Elgin to see “Grandpa” where they had not been for some time. We are looking forward to their next visit, hopefully in the summer when we can take them to the Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier NP.

            Any other family or friends that would like to come spend time in the mountains of Montana are welcome any time, just let us know when you would like to come!